Container with hinged closure



Jan. .9, 1968 P. A. LATHAM ETAL [3,362,591

v CONTAINER WITH HINGED CLOSURE I Filed March 25; 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 152 I F/G5 mz/emors Pe/e/ A La/ham Pau/ EBref/ra A fforn ey Jan. 9, 1968P. A. LATHAM ET AL 3,362,591

CONTAINER WITH HINGED CLOSURE Filed March 25, 1965 2 Shets-Sheet 2//71/@n f0r5 Pefer A Laf/rom Pau/ E Bra/k0 Afro/nay United States Patent3,362,591 CQNTAINER WITH HENGED CLOSURE Peter A. Latham, Stow, and PaulE. Brefka, Framingham, Mass, assignors, by mesne assignments, to Mobil0i! Corporation, a corporation of New York Filed Mar. 23, 1965, Ser. No.442,032 13 Claims. (Cl. 222-498) The present invention relates to hollowcontainers and especially to improved closures therefor which may beattached by means of a hinged or articulated joint.

A myriad of closures or stoppers have been employed with many differenttypes of hollow containers with varying degrees of success. However,even in this highly developed art, there are many criteria to satisfyand there is always room for improvement of closures. This isparticularly true of the extremely thin Walled plastic containers whichhave been developed in recent times, as these containers often post newproblems which would not arise in the case of the old, heavy, thickwalled bottles, etc.

The novel hinged closure is adapted for ready attachment to a socket ona container so that it may be swung to open or closed positions withoutbeing detached from the container. It is particularly suitable for usewith thin walled containers, especially those constructed of plasticmaterials. The closure itself may be made of thin material and it ispreferably equipped with a reinforcing or stiffening flange around itsperimeter and further provided with a configuration suitable forresisting warping where it is necessary or desirable to employ a flangebroken by a slot thereacross. In several particular embodiments, thearticulated joint and associated elements of the closurecontainercombination are so constructed and arranged as to hold the closure inthe open position against the force of gravity when pouring from thecontainer. In one modification, provision it also made forsimultaneously opening and closing two apertures in the container,namely, a pouring outlet and a separate inlet for air.

The present invention comprises a closure having a hinge element of atleast substantially hemispheroidal configuration, that is about half ormore of an approximately spherical body, including ellipsoids, etc.Additional features of the invention relate to utilizing a hinge elementthat is resiliently deformable and capable of substantially resuming itsnormal shape after being relieved of deforming stresses, whichcharacteristics may be provided by a slot in a resilient material;preferably, the hinge member is in the form of a thin walled andresiliently collapsible shell. The aforesaid hinge element is desirablyintegral with the closure, preferably as part of a projecting arm toadapt the closure for pivotal movement when engaged with a substantiallyspheroidal (preferably ball shaped) socket on the container. Still otherfeatures involve structure adapted to produce a frictional engagement orwedging action in either said socket or an adjoining slot to hold theclosure in the open position; a plurality of apertures in the containerproperly spaced to prevent the formation of a partial vacuum in the container which would interfere with smooth pouring, and providing acombination of a reinforcing flange and a concave lid in the case ofsome thin walled closure to minimize or eliminate warping. Accordingly,the present invention encompasses various combinations of one or more ofsuch structural features. Other features and benefits of the inventionwill be apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of thedetailed disclosure which follows.

To facilitate a better understanding of this invention, reference shouldbe had to the accompanying drawings as well as the associated detaileddescription.

FIG. 1 is an inverted or bottom plan view of one embodiment of a closureaccording to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line II-II of FIG. 1 in normalorientation, that is with the closure in the upright position.

FIG. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section in normal orientation ofanother modification of the closure taken on a plane corresponding toline III-III of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a container constructed according to theinvention with the closure removed.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional elevation taken on the plane of theline VV of FIG. 4 and also showing the closure of FIG. 1 in elevation.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary plan view similar to FIG. 4, of anotherembodiment of the top of the container.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged vertical section in normal orientation taken onthe line VIIVII of FIG. 1 showing the hinge arm with background detailsomitted.

Turning now to FIGS. 1 and 5, the closure 10 comprises a lid section 12and a connection arm 14 terminating in a thin hemispherical shell 16.The lid is provided with two downwardly projecting hollow bosses 18 and20 which are adapted to engage pouring and air inlet apertures,respectively, in a container. The lower ends of these bosses havetruncated conical surfaces 22 and 24, respectively, to insure properregistration and easy engagement with the openings in the container.

The lid 12 has a thin wall and it has a depending flange or turned downedge 26 around its periphery. For most of its length the flange 26 isapproximately perpendicular to the body of the lid 12 but its rear wall28 has a slope of about 15 degrees from the vertical to avoid binding onthe rear edge 30 (FIG. 5) of a boss 32 on the top of the container body.In the integral closure structure shown, there is a slot 34 extendingacross substantially the full height or depth of the rear flange 28 atthe point where the wall sections thereof join the double walledprojecting arm 14 which carries the hinge element or shell 16. When theclosure 10 is formed of a thin flexible material, as exemplified byimpact resistant polystyrene of about 6-40 mils (0.0060.040 inch)thickness, considerable reinforcin or stiffening of the structure isnecessary to prevent the warping of the lid 12. The flange 26 inconjunction with the large boss 18 provide the necessary stiffening forthe flat front section -36 of the lid, but the slot 34 breaks thecontinuity of the flange and greatly weakens the rear Wall 28. As aresult, it has been found that there is a pronounced tendency of therear corners 38 and 40 of the closure to flex upwardly a considerabledistance due to warping of the rear section 42 of the lid. However, ithas been discovered that constructing the rear part of lid 12 with aslightly arched or domed surface, that is concave on the face adjacentthe slot 34, alleviates this difliculty.

FIG. 3 illustrates a somewhat different embodiment of the closure whichis also constructed with thin wall sections. Closure 44 has a flat frontsection 36 and a curved rear section 42 on top as well as a turned downedge 26 which extends completely around the lid except for the verticalslot in the middle of the back wall flange 28. The hinge element 46 is athin walled, rounded shell open at the base and approximating of a ball,i.e. a hollow sphere with the bottom quarter of its vertical depth cutoff. This hinge ball is connected by the double walled arm 14 having across section in the form of an inverted U, similarly to the connectingarm in FIG. 1. Besides the hinge ball 46, the only significantdifferences in this closure lie in the shape of the projecting bosses 48and 50 which are adapted to close and seal the aperture in thecontainer. The sealing bosses of FIG. 3 are of slightly greater diameternear their lower ends than their upper ends; accordingly, these bossesexert sufiicient pressure against the rims of the apertures to formliquid tight seals; also such bosses tend to resist accidental opening,for example, under the pressure that might be exerted on the faces ofthe bosses by surging fluids while the containers are being transportedover a rough road.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show plan and sectional elevation views respectively ofthe hollow container 52 formed from impact resistant polystyrene andhaving a slightly arched top corresponding the curvature of the rearsection 42 of the closure. At the top of this vessel is a groove 54 ofsubstantially rectangular cross section which entirely surrounds theboss 32. This groove slopes slightly downward toward the front side ofthe container to drain any liquid out of the groove.

There are two apertures at the top of this boss, a pouring hole 56 ofrelatively large diameter and an air inlet opening 58 of much smallersize. It will be noted that the rim of aperture 56 is surrounded by adished area 60 sloping downward toward the rim so that when the pouringof any fluid is completed, the last drop falls back into the containerinstead of dribbling down the outside as the container is turnedupright.

The top wall of the container has a substantially spherical socket 62molded therein of suitable diameter for housing the hemispherical shell16 of the closure in pivotal engagement. This socket may be reachedthrough the somewhat elliptical channel 64 which is open at the top tothe atmosphere and at the bottom to the socket 62. A slot 66 between thefront of ball socket 62 and the rear edge 30 of boss 32 is adapted toreceive the pivot arm 14 when the closure 15 is in the closed position.Another slot 68 communicating with the socket is in the form of a groovehaving its bottom 70 sloping upwardly toward the rear from the bottomrear of the socket to provide space for arm 14 when the closure is inthe open position. All three slots 64, 66 and 68 are narrower than thediameter of the ball socket 62.

It will be noted that the hinge element .16 is a hollow hemisphericalshell open at the base and also broken by a slot at the juncture of theshell and the integral projecting arm 14. This structure is readilydeformable or collapsible, especially when the wall of the shell isthin. Accordingly, the closure may be readily attached to the containerbody 52 by merely placing the shell 16 at the mouth of the passage orchannel 64 and pushing downward on the closure with a moderate amount offorce as this is sufiicient to squeeze the walls of shell 16 togetherand temporarily change its cross section from a circle to a narrowellipse, whereupon the collapsed shell slides easily through the channel64 into the socket 62. In the ball socket, the shell 16 is no longerconfined to the shape of channel 64 and it returns to substantially itsoriginal shape due to the resilience and/or plastic memory of thematerial from which it is made. The entry passage or channel 64 isdesirably of such configuration or size that shell 16 cannot bedislodged from engagement with socket 62 without collapsing shell 16.For instance, the maximum width of the channel may be substantially lessthan the diameter of the shell.

In FIG. 5 the closure 10 is shown in the open position, that is swungaway from the pouring aperture 56, and the closure and the associatedstructure are designed to hold the closure in this position instead ofletting it fall down onto the opening 56 when the container or vessel istipped for pouring liquid or granular solid material out through theaperture 56. It will be noted that the closure 10 has been swung orpivoted well over 90 degrees, for example about 120 to 135 degrees, fromthe closed position. This is highly desirable as it gets the closure outof the way so that a person pouring material out of the container has agenerally unobstructed view of the pouring operation.

The closure 10 is held in this open or retracted position by theconstruction and arrangement of a number of parts including thehemispherical shell 16, the ball socket 62, the sloping bottom wall 76of slot 68 and the corner '72 of the arm 14. With the structure shown inFIGS. 1 to 5, when the closure 10 is swung back past the vertical, thecorner 72 of the hinge arm bears against the bottom 70 of slot 68; thenas the closure it is pushed back still farther, the corner 72 acts as apivot and the pivotal motion moves the shell 16 upward and toward thefront side of socket 62. in so displacing the shell from its normalposition in the socket, the sides of the open shell must move inwardthereby partially collapsing; however, the resilient shell materialpushes outward against the sides of socket 62, or perhaps against thelower part of the sides of elliptical slot 64, in a frictionalengagement sufficient to wedge the shell 16 and thus fix it and theclosure 19 in this new position. In this, the corner 72 exerts acam-like action on the closure to wedge the hemispherical shell 16firmly in the ball socket, but the closure may be readily released fromthis fixed position by pushing the closure toward its closed position.

Alternatively, the closure may be designed with an arm 14 of slightlywider cross section than the width of the narrow slot d8, so that thereis sufficient frictional engagement between the sides of arm 14 and thewalls of slot 68 to releasably hold the closure open when arm 14 ispushed back into slot 63 without necessitating the aforementioned camaction and displacement of the hemisphere 16 in the ball socket to holdthe closure open. The resilience of the plastic material and theU-shaped cross section of arm 14 facilitate such frictional engagementby allowing the walls or arm 14 to be squeezed together in entering thenarrow slot 68.

Still other means may be used for holding the closure firmly in itsretracted position, for instance the modification illustrated in FIG. 6.FIG. 6 shows a top structure on the container which differs from FIG. 4in that a slot 74 having tapering or converging walls is used in placeof the parallel walls of slot 68. The hinge arm 14 and slot 74- aredesigned to properly correlated widths so that the top of the arm freelyenters the wide end of the slot as the closure is swung toward the rear,but as the arm is swung progressively farther backward toward the rear,the arm 14 is brought into progressively closer engagement with theconverging Walls of slot '74 until it becomes wedged in place so thatthe closure It is prevented by frictional engagement from closingaccidentally as for instance due to the force of gravity during thepouring period. For purposes of illustration, the taper of the slot mayamount to about 1 to 30 degrees expressed as the angle of convergence ofthe two side walls of the slot 63, that is the included angle betweenthe side walls projected to the imaginary point at which they meet.

In still another version shown in FIG. 7, the skirts or side walls 76 ofthe hinge arm '78 are flared instead of being substantially parallel asin FIGS. 1 and 2. This particular type of hinge arm may be employed withthe container of FIG. 4 which has parallel side walls in the slot 68. Inthis embodiment also, the arm and the slot should be properly sized forWedging engagement. For instance, the closed side or top 84) of the arm14 should be narrow enough to readily enter slot 68 as closure 10 isswung backward while the side walls 76 should be flared widely enough tobear against both sides of the slot or groove 68 and provide enoughfrictional resistance so that there is no tendency for the closure tofall back to the closed position under the influence of gravity during apouring operation. For the purpose of illustration, each of the sides 76may be flared outward at an angle of from about 1 to 30 degrees or evenmore, and superior results are likely to be obtained with each side wallflaring outward at from about 5 to 15. The amount of flare in the sidewalls of the hinge arm may be varied considerably, and it is influenceby numerous factors including the stiffness, resilience, smoothness andfrictional characteristics of the particular material used in the armand also that of the body of the container as well as the total contactarea and the weight of the closure. In general, the same factors affectthe other wedging techniques disclosed herein for releasably fixing theclosure in position.

In the embodiments of FIGS. 6 and 7, contact between the corner 72 ofthe arm 14 and the bottom 70 of the slot 68 (see FIG. 5) may sometimesbe undesirable. Such contact may be readily avoided by deepening slot 68and/ or rounding off the corner 72. It is also contemplated that boththe tapered slot and flared hinge arm of FIGS. 6 and 7 may be employedtogether if so desired.

When the closure is constructed of thin enough material to be subject towarping in the rear section 42 (FIG. 1) adjacent the slit 34, it willusually be found that relatively gentle concave curvature over asubstantial area of the rear section is sufiicient to overcome thewarping tendency. While it is not essential that the rear of the lidhave a truly arcuate cross section in such instances, the curvature maybe expressed in terms of the relation of the maximum distance betweenthe arc or curve of the section 42 and its chord to the length of thechord. Depending upon the particular material employed for the closureas well as its thickness, rigidity and tendency toward warping, themaximum distance between arc and chord may range from about 1 percent ofthe length of the chord up to as great a curvature as may be desired. Inthe case of a closure formed from sheet polystyrene with an averagethickness of about 15 mils a maximum arc to chord distance of about 2%of the chord length has produced very satisfactory results.

The closure is preferably so designed so that when it is in the fullyclosed position, the front of the turned down flange 26 does not extenddownward enough to cover the full depth of boss 32. Instead a space orgap or about 1 inch or more is left so that the closure may be easilyraised with a thumb nail. Also the front edge of vertical flange 26 maybe flared outward slightly or terminate in a narrow lip or horizontalflange so that it may be readily engaged and pried up. However, it isnot desirable to have such a flange or lip project forward of the frontwall of the container inasmuch as the closure might be openedunintentionally if an adjoining container were dragged against it inbeing lifted from a multiple unit case, etc.

The hinge closure of this invention is particularly suited 'forsimultaneously or substantially simultaneously opening and closing twoor more apertures in the container in a single motion, and the use oftwo such openings is especially desirable to facilitate pouring liquidsin a steady stream rather than the uneven spurting flow or gluggingeffect which results from the formation of a partial vacuum in thecontainer. With the spurting flow, the tendency to spill or wasteliquids is usually far more pronounced and more time is required toempty the container. For good pouring control from containers of aboutone pint to one gallon sizes, the size of the pouring aperture issignificant, and diameters of about 0.6 to about 1.5 inches areparticularly suitable provided that provision is made for the steadyadmission of air to prevent forming a partial vacuum in the container.The spacing and size of the air inlet orifice are also signficant. It isdesirably smaller than the pouring aperture in order to minimize thespilling of liquid through the air inlet orifice in the event ofcareless handling, yet too small an orifice will not admit the air fastenough and moreover is likely to produce an unpleasant hissing sound. Toillustrate, the air inlet orifice may desirably have a diameter betweenabout 0.08 and 0.40 inch. The air admission orifice is of course placedin a location where it will be above the pouring orifice when thecontainer is tilted to a pouring position. The spacing or minimumdistance between the edges of these two orifices should be at leastone-quarter inch or, expressed in other terms, it is desirably at leastone-third of the diameter of the pouring orifice. A greater spacing canbe employed according to desire but a larger and consequently morecostly closure is required in such instances.

It is of course apparent that the present closure is readily adaptablefor sealing only a single aperture or for serving as the lid or closurefor the entire top of a container. No air inlet orifice is required inpouring powdered or granulated solids from a container of the typedescribed. Moreover, even with liquids, a sufiiciently large pouringaperture will permit the entrance of sufiicient air into the containerto eliminate the formation of vacuum, but it is somewhat more difficultto control pouring from such large orifices.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that two or more hingesmay be employed with the closures and containers described, if sodesired, but this is generally unnecessary unless a very large closureis involved. Further, locating the hinge behind the closure is notessential for the hinge element may be affixed to either side of theclosure with an appropriately located socket to permit swinging theclosure toward the side rather than the rear of the container. Althoughthe hemispherical shell 16 is located on a projecting arm 14 in onepreferred embodiment, this is not required in all cases for it ispossible to omit the arm and aflix the shell 16 directly to the closurelid 12, for example, to corner 38 of the closure.

While the shape of the hinge shell 16 is important, it is neverthelesssubject to some variation in contour. Thus, although a hemisphericalshell is greatly preferred, a somewhat smaller or a much larger portionof a sphere may be used; in fact a complete sphere may be employed,desirably with a slot through the hollow sphere which will allow theball to be temporarily deformed. Also the shell 16 may be more or lessbullet shaped with a short cylindrical skirt attached to the hemisphere.In another embodiment, it is contemplated that the socket 62 may havethe configuration of a somewhat flattened sphere engaging a somewhatflattened hemispheroidal hinge element. From this, it is apparent thatan exact spherical structure or fraction thereof is not required foreither the rotatable element or the socket, provided the two are matedWell enough so that the hinge element 16 is capable of pivoting inside aspheroidal socket upon application of the moderate force. Thus, thehinge element is best described in a broad sense as having at leastsubstantially hemispheroidal configuration which includes about half ormore of a generally ball shaped structure, including ellipsoids andellipsoids of revolution, etc., and the socket similarly described asspheroidal. In general, ignoring the surface areas broken by the variousslots or channels described earlier, the optimum results are obtainablewith a hemispherical hinge element seated in a spherical socket.

Another advantage of the container structure shown wherein the ballshaped socket 62 and slots 66, 64 and 68 as well as groove 54 areintegrally molded into the thin walled material of the container is thatthese cavities provide a very signficant stiffening and reinforcingeffect in the top wall, which is highly desirable for thin walledcontainers. Thus while a separate hinge mounting block containing theaforesaid cavities may be attached to the top wall of a similarcontainer by solvent welding or the used of an adhesive, it is usuallyfar better to mold these elements into the top of the container fromconsiderations of strength, economy and appearance.

It is usually preferable to keep the rear or transverse portion ofgroove 54 as shall-ow as possible in order to permit air entering thecontainer through the air admission orifice 58 to flow to the rear ofthe container with as little obstruction as possible even when thecontainer is almost completely full of liquid.

It is generally desirable to mold a substantially arcuate of cylindricalfront wall for the container boss 32. This configuration providesmaximum strength and rigidity, and these are important factors in theuse of thin walled material. Also this curvature permits minimizing thedistance between the front edge of the pouring aperture 56 and the frontwall of boss 32 and thereby minimizing the undesirable accumulation ofany of the contents of the con- 7 tainer on top of the boss 32. Thedished fiange 60 also strengthens this area, and minimizes suchaccumulations.

Although any construct-on materials of suitable resilience and formingcharacteristics may be employed in producing the articles describedherein with due attention to the eventual use, thermoplastic materialsare preferred for many purposes. The latter may include those containingpolystyrene, polyethylene, propylene, polyallomers, nylon, formaldehydepolymers, plasticized polyvinyl chloride and related vinyl polymers,nitrocellulose, ethyl cellulose, cellulose acetate, celluloseacetate-butyrate, polymethylacrylate and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styreneresins to name only a few for illustrative purposes. Such resins may becomposed of homopolymers, copolymers, of various blends thereof; andthey may also contain various additives known in the art, includingcolorants, plasticizers, heat stabilizers, extenders, fillers, andinhibitors against degradation due to oxidation, ultraviolet light, etc.High impact, modified polystyrene produced by copolymerizing styrenewith a lesser amount of a hydrocarbon elastorner or another rubberypolymer is one type of widely used resin which is particularly suitablein many applications.

A variety of known forming or shaping techniques may be utilized inmanufacturing the closures and containers of this invention. In the caseof thermoplastic articles, good results have been obtained bythermoforming modified polystyrene sheet material under heat and vacuumpressure or other fluid pressure difierential, and other suitablemethods include blow molding and injection molding.

Many other such variations or modifications of the present invention maybe made without departing from its purview; accordingly, this inventionshould not be construed as limited in any particulars except as may berecited in the appended claims or required in the prior art.

What is claimed is:

1. A hollow, thin-walled container having one wall provided with anorifice and a narrow slot communicating with a substantially ball-shapedsocket, said slot having a portion extending beyond said socket in adirection away from said orifice; a closure for the container comprisinga lid of thin wall section having a depending integral reinforcingflange around the perimeter of said lid, said flange being divided by aslot thereacross and said flange extending outward from said lid at saidslot to provide an integral projecting arm bearing an integral hingeelement in the form of a resiliently collapsible, slotted, thin shell ofsubstantially hemispherical configuration, said flange slot terminatingadjacent to a concave surface occupying a substantial area of said lidto minimize any tendency toward the warping of said lid; said hingeelement of the closure being pivotally engaged in said socket of thecontainer, and means including coaction of said projecting arm with saidnarrow slot portion to releasably fix said closure in a predeterminedposition relative to said orifice when said closure is swung away fromsaid orifice.

2. A hollow, thin-walled container having one wall pro vided with anorifice and a narrow slot communicating with a substantially spheroidalsocket, said slot having a portion extending beyond said socket in adirection away from said orifice, a closure having a hinge element inthe form of a resiliently collapsible shell of at least substantiallyhernispheroidal con-figuration aflixed to a projecting arm ofsubstantially narrower cross section than said shell, said closure hingeelement pivotally engaging said container socket, and means includingthe coaction of said projecting arm with said narrow slot portion toreleasably fix said closure in a predetermined position rela tive tosaid orifice when said closure is swung away from said orifice.

3. A hollow, thin-walled container having one wall provided with anorifice and a narrow slot in said wall communicating with asubstantially spheroidal socket, said slot having a portion extendingbeyond said socket in a direction away from said orifice; a closurehaving an integral hinge element projecting therefrom in the form of aresiliently collapsible, slotted, thin-walled shell of at leastsubstantially hemispheroidal configuration afiixed to a projecting armof substantially narrower cross section than said shell; said hingeelement rotatably engaging said socket to pivotally attach the closureto said container, and means including the coaction of said projectingarm with said narrow slot portion to releasably fix said closure in apredetermined position relative to said orifice when said closure isswung away from said orifice.

4. A hollow, thin-walled container having one Wall provided with anorifice and a narrow slot in said wall intersecting a substantiallyball-shaped socket, said slot having a portion extending beyond saidsocket in a direction away from said orifice; a closure having anintegral hinge element projecting therefrom in the form of a resilientlycollapsible, slotted, thin-walled shell of at least substantiallyhemispheroidal configuration aflixed to a projecting arm ofsubstantially narrower cross section than said shell; said socketrotatably engaging said hinge element to pivotally attach said closureto the body of said container, means including the coaction of saidprojecting arm with said narrow slot portion to create a wedging actionand releasably fix said closure in a predetermined position relative tosaid orifice when said closure is swung more than degrees away fromengagement with said orifice.

5. A hollow, thin-walled container having one wall provided with anorifice and a narrow slot communicating with a substantially ball-shapedsocket, said slot having a portion extending beyond said socket in adirection away from said orifice; a closure having an integral hingeelement projecting therefrom in the form of a resiliently collapsible,slotted, thin-walled shell of substantially hemispherical configurationafiixed to a projecting arm of substantially narrower cross section thansaid shell; said socket rotatably engaging said hinge element topivotally attach said closure to said container; and means on saidprojecting arm for engaging the bottom of said narrow slot portion in apivoting action when said closure is swung more than 90 degrees awayfrom said orifice to displace the center of said shell sufficiently fromthe center of said socket to at least partially collapse said shell andthereby releasably wedge said shell against unintended rotation in saidsocket.

6. A hollow, thin-walled container having one wall provided with anorifice and a narrow slot intersecting a substantially ball-shapedsocket, said slot having a portion extending beyond said socket in adirection away from said orifice; a closure having an integral hingeelement projecting therefrom in the form of a resiliently collapsible,slotted, thin-walled shell of substantially hemispherical configurationaflixed to a projecting arm of substantially narrower cross section thansaid shell, whereby said shell may be collapsed during insertion throughan aperture of narrower width than the diameter of said shell intopivotal engagement with the mating ball-shaped socket; said socketrotatably engaging said shell for pivotally attaching said closure tosaid container wall; and said projecting arm having a sufficiently widecross section to frictionally engage the side walls of said slot portionand releasably fix said closure in a predetermined variable positionrelative to said orifice when said closure is swung more than 90 degreesaway from engagement with said orifice.

7. A container according to claim 6 in which said narrow slot portion istapered and the wider end of said slot portion opens into said socket.

8. A container which comprises a hollow container body provided with anorifice and a substantially spheroidal socket, a pivotable closure forsaid orifice comprising a lid with an attached, resiliently collapsiblehinge element in the form of a single, substantially hemispheroidalshell having a slot in the wall of said shell, and

said socket rotatably encloses said shell to form a complete pivotalconnect-ion between said closure and said container body.

9. A container according to claim 8 which includes means for releasablyfixing said closure in a predetermined open position relative to saidorifice.

10. A container according to claim 8 in which said closure comprises alid of thin wall section having a depending reinforcing flange connectedto a projecting arm attached to said hinge element, and a substantialarea of said lid adjacent the junction of said flange and said arm is ofconcave cross section to minimize any tendency toward the Warping ofsaid lid.

11. A container according to claim 8 in which said shell is affixed toan arm projecting from said lid and said arm is of substantiallynarrower cross section than said shell, whereby said shell may becollapsed during insertion through an aperture of narrower Width thanthe diameter of said shell into pivotal engagement with said socket.

12. A container according to claim 8 in which said socket issubstantially ball-shaped and said hinge element is a substantiallyhemispherical shell with a single slot in the wall thereof.

13. A container according to claim 8 in which said closure is anintegral molded unit comprising a lid with a depending reinforcingflange and a slotted hemispheroidal shell connected by a hollow arm ofsubstantially U- shaped cross section narrower than the diameter of saidshell, and the side walls of said arm constitute continuums of saidflange and said shell.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 717,895 1/1903 McClain. 2,022,10911/1935 Earp 222548 3,006,011 10/1961 Littleton 287-87 X 221,635 11/1879Wahl et al. 222572 1,545,702 7/ 19'25 Sellinger et al 222-562 X2,111,186 3/1938 Jenks 222498 2,130,676 9/1938 Sebell 222484 2,398,5734/ 1946 Becker. 2,832,517 4/1958 Baumgartner 222556 X 2,849,164 8/1958Weisgerber 222485 X 3,107,823 10/ 1963 Focht 222-182 3,127,063 3/ 1964Fairch-ild 222556 X 3,254,812 6/1966 Abbott 222 546 X 241,846 5/1881Edsall 287-87 FOREIGN PATENTS 115,817 9/1942 Australia.

16,303 1894 Great Britain.

ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner.

KENNETH N. LEIMER, Examiner.

8. A CONTAINER WHICH COMPRISES A HOLLOW CONTAINER BODY PROVIDED WITH ANORIFICE AND A SUBSTANTIALLY SPHEROIDAL SOCKET, A PIVOTABLE CLOSURE FORSAID ORIFICE COMPRISING A LID WITH AN ATTACHED, RESILIENTLY COLLAPSIBLEHINGE ELEMENT IN THE FORM OF A SINGLE, SUBSTANTIALLY HEMISPHEROIDALSHELL HAVING A SLOT IN THE WALL OF SAID SHELL, AND SAID SOCKET ROTATABLYENCLOSES SAID SHELL TO FORM A COMPLETE PIVOTAL CONNECTION BETWEEN SAIDCLOSURE AND SAID CONTAINER BODY.